Windmill-pump.



W. SEEE.

WINDMILL PUMP.

APPLIOATION HLBD ou?. s, 1910,

LGLV@ Patented Aug. 22, 1911,

'WILILIAM SNEE, 0F WEST ELIZABETH, PENNSYLVANIA.

WINDMIIiL-PUMP.

, Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Ailg. 22, 1911.

I VApplication filed October 5, 1910.l Serial No. 585,483.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, VILLIAM Sizun, a resident of West Eliza-beth, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Windmill-Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and efficient means for utilizing velocities developed by wind mills and other variable power motors for controlling the load, provision being had yfor automatically relieving the motor of all load when its speed is below a predetermined rate, and for throwing on the load whenever the critical speed necessary to carry the load is exceeded. I

. The invention may be embodied in a fluid actuating, propelling, or lifting device which is operatedby a motor of the charactor stated, with provision for releasingl the tluid and thereby relieving the actuatingdevice of load whenever the velocity of such device is below a predetermined rate, and with means for preventing ,the escape of fluid whenever the device attains or exceeds4 suoli rate. The presentadaptation is in connection with a pump, the pump piston being connected to a wind wheel and moving therewith whenever the latter is in motion,

but operating to lift or force fluid only when the power is suliicient to accomplish a lifting stroke, the same being determinedv automatically by the velocity of the piston. lVhen below the requisite velocity, the motor and pump are not stalled as is now universally the case,- the motor without load continuing to move and the piston continuing to niake its strokes, but such strokes are idle or do no'work until a sufficient velocity 4o is attained to accomplish a pumping stroke,

or part of such stroke, at which time the pump instantly becomes active and so remains as long as the requisite velocity is maintained. The action is thoroughly automatic, the load going ott and on under predetermined velocity variations. While the'` pump is designed primarily for, and is here 'shown in connection with a wind wheel.' and is so entitled,it may be operated by any;

variable power motor.

,While` various means have been 4 proposed heretofore for utilizing low wind velocities,

' Il believe I .am the firstjto accomplish this result by so constructing the pump that it will. .run ,constantly with the Wind wheel,

'out will ytake up thejload only when the power is suicient to accomplish the work without stalling the wheel. And with such control operating automatically, the greatest..

possible amount of energy is utilized, the arrangement being such that when the power is low the pump Will skip any number of strokes between active strokes thatv may be necessary in order to accumulate sulicient energy for an active stroke. Under former practices this is quite impossible, the pump not operating in the absence of continuing power sufficient to run it, the result being that all of the power derived trom 'low .velocities is wasted.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1' is a vertical section of a pump constructed in-accordance with the invention, the same being shown connected to a wind wheel. Fig. 2 is `a sectional detail of the pump piston and bypass valve. Fig. 3 is a view of a valve similar to Fig. 2, with means for adjusting the throw of the valve. Fig. 4 is a valve of modified form. Fig. 5 is a vertical lsection of a pump of modified design.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates the pump cylinder, and 3 the piston ,operatively connected by rod 4 in any suitable manner to wind wheel 5; The latter may be of any preferred design. .Formed through piston 3 is vertical passageG through which -tlie fluid being pumped flows qupwardly on the down stroke of the piston. Within the upper portion of the piston is the upwardly facing valve-seat 7 adapted to receive valve 3 which may be held normally'raised and unseated by spring 9.

At 4the lower end of the pump cylinder -is the intake valve 10, which receivesA water from a well or other source through pipe 11. The upper end of the latter is preferably enlarged as indicated at l2 to form the air chamber 13 adjacent valve 10; A delivery valve 14 may be provided at the upper end of the pump cylinder, with air chamber 15 located in the delivery line 1,6 near valve 14.

Normally, in the adaptationhere shown,

the operation is not unlike that of any single acting punip, the lluidlpassing upwardly -through the piston .on the down-stroke, and vtheI piston lifting and forcing the same through the delivery valve on the 11p-stroke. But when the power,, as determinedby the velocity ofthe piston. is insuiicient 'to aecoinplish a working/ troke. instead of the pump becoming/fish ed, valve `8 fails to close. Hence the 11p-stroke is merely idle,

the water rushing downward through the spring-held valve and the piston continuing to churn back and forth through the 'water in the cylinder until the piston attains sufiicientfvelocity on an up-stroke to close the valve against the pressure of spring 9, whereupon the pump immediately becomes active. The shock incident to the sudden `setting in motion of the column of water would be serious excepting for the compensating eect of air chambers 13 and 15, which it is desirable -to arrange as close as practicable to the inlet and outlet ofthe cylinder.

The action of the pump is practically instantaneous. If the wind velocity drops below a predetermined rate, the load is removed from the wheel beforethe pump resistance can'stall it. As soon as the wind increases sutfic'ientlythe load is thrown on,

this occurring just as soon as the velocity of the wheel and thereby its kinetic energy are sutlicient for the work.

lFrom the foregoing it will be seen that the pump will continue to work, though intermittently, at very low wind velocities, because pump strokes will be made as long as ythe wind is sufficient to speed the wheel .beyond the critical velocity necessary to l or part of a working stroke, Whereas with a milly of usual design, a sudden gust of -wind would have to start the wheel from rest, `overcoming far greater friction and ,inertia than is present 'when the Wheel and piston are in motion.

'The throw or travel of valve 8 may be increased or diminished, according as it is 'desired to decrease or increase the speed'at which` it closes, it being obvious that with its` throw comparatively short it will seat mo're quickly and therebyv more quickly throw thev load' on thev wheel than if its throw is longer.v In the adaptation shown in Figs.v 1 and 2,'the throw may be varied by an adjustable stud 17 overhanging the valve. vAs shown in Fig. 3, a tubularv piston f rod 18 may be provided, with a valve stem 19 extending therethrough and adjustable at its upper end by nut 20, with spring 21 at the lower end of the rod for depressing it as far as possible into the path of valve 8. ,Obviously also, pressure under which valve 8 closes maybe varied `by varying the strength of spring 9. A floatvalve 22,'Fig.

4, may be substituted for the spring-raised valve 8.

A pump of modiiied design is shown in Fig. 5, wherein the piston 23 is closed and the bypass is in the form of a passage' 24:r connectingl the upper vand lower ends of the pump cylinder, with the upwardly opening spring valve 25 in said passage which performs the same function and operates in the same manner as valve 8 of therst d e- .scribed construction.

By the expression predetermined velocity I mean a velocity in which the current of water plus the inertia action of the valve, andthewatcr immediately above it, over-` come `the forces holding the valve open. This inertia may change somev'vhat,A though to a very limited extent, tlievalue ofthe velocityof the piston at which closing of the bypass valve occurs. The predetermined or critical velocity which closes the bypass valve is otherwise independent of the velocity of the wind wheel. velocities this critical velocity will be reached very early in the stroke, so that the pump acts virtually as if the Aregu] ating feature did not exist. At lower speeds the At high valve may close when one-fourtl1,'onelialf,

or any fractional part of the pumping stroke has been completed, as determined by tht velocity of the piston when-above the critical, while at velocities below thecritical theA valve will not close at all, thus relieving the wheel of allload. l

I/Vhile the embodiments here shown are in connection with single acting pumps, it is obvious that the. invention is not thus ree4 stricted, nor is it restricted to the described location of the several valves and operating parts so long as they perform the operation underlying theinvention.

I claim 1. The combination with a variable power y 'l motor, of a pump having its piston c onnected tothe motor, and means cont-rolled by the velocity of the piston for relieving it of all pumping load during one or a succession of strokes" below a predetermined velocity. v

2. Thecombination of a pump cylinder, a piston, a single bypass comprising the only means of communication between the spaces at oppositesides ofthe 'piston,'a valve for the bypass closed during .the lifting stroke of the piston when the latter exceeds a predetermined velocity, and means for holding the valve open until such predetermined l velocity is attained. n j 3.v The combination of a pump cylinder, al piston having`a fluid passage therethrough,

a tubular piston rod, a vertically movable upwardly `opening valve for the piston pas-v sage, yielding means for normally holding the valvefrom itsseat, and 'adjusting vmeansl operative in tlie tubular piston rod'for varying the movement of the valve relatively to its seat.

4. Tlie combination of a variable power motor, a reciprocating liuid actuating device driven by tlie motor, and ine'ans controlled by the velocity of said actuat-i-ngydevice for entirely relieving the latter of load during one or a succession of strokes below a predetermined velocity.

5. The combination of a variable power y motor, a fluid actuating device driven by the4 motor, a bypass whenl fully open entirely relieving said device of Huid imparted load,

vand a normally open valve for the bypass closing under pressure resulting Jfrom the actuating device attaining 0r exceeding a ,predetermined velocity.

6. The combination of'a pump cylinder, a pistona normally open bypass of sufficient area to pass-wn the charging stroke of the piston-a full quota of liquid to 'be lifted ing stroke when the. bypass, remains 'fully-- open',- a valvfor the bypass which closes Aunder predetermined velocity 'of the piston on its discharging stroke, and a spring holding the valve open until such predetermined I veloci-ty is attained. 7. .The vcombination of a pump cylinder, a piston having a passage through which Hows upwardly all the fluid to be lifted, a downwardly seating valve for the passage, and a spring holding the valve normally open'and closing only when the piston attains predetermined velocity on its upward stroke.

In testimony Whereof'I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM SNEE `Witnesses i J. M. NES/BIT, F. E. GAITHER. 

